Does dryfire practice really help?

Dry firing can help. But like drills in any sport it only helps if you are practicing the right things. Dry firing does no good if your issue is too much side tension from your trigger finger so the sights jump when the trigger breaks.

How you pull the trigger matters. You don't really want to pull it. Instead you want to build pressure against it and let it move when and how it wants. And you don't stop at the BANG!. You have to focus on pulling fully back to the travel stop and hold it there for a noticeable amount of time. If you're clutching at the trigger like it's a mouse button in some shooting game you'll never get good.

It's amazing how the little things matter as well. A long time bullseye shooter sharpened me up one day by suggesting I hold the unloaded gun down low, close my eyes and raise it up in a comfortable manner. I opened my eyes and the gun was a good 15 degrees off the target. I shuffled my feet around until I was raising the gun up with my eyes closed and then opening them to see the gun in line with the target. The groups I shot that way were about 15 to 20% smaller than what I'd done that night up to then.

So if you're dry fire practicing work at a nice smooth pressure build instead of actually trying to conciously move the trigger. The break should surprise you when it does occur. And work on your positioning and try that neutral posture.

Finally I feel it helps to have a focal point on the wall. I know it's about the front sight. But it's also about putting the front sight on the target and holding it there while working the trigger and gauging where the pressure build occurs and watching for the sight picture jumping a little sideways at the break. That indicates side tension from the trigger finger which you want to correct with less or more trigger finger on the trigger.
 
I will place a dime on its side on the front sight after I have racked (the empty) gun and hold against a spot on the wall or where ever and slowly squeeze the trigger until it breaks without the dime falling off. It takes a while to get it but once you do and can consistently do this it feels great. I make sure that I am always applying pressure on the gun as if it were loaded and can usually get 4 out of 5 trigger pulls without the dime falling off.
 
Trying to find a snap cap or some other such device for a .22 rimfire is a fools errand. Get a gun that is designed to keep the firing pin from striking the rear barrel face, then forget about it. A Ruger Mark II can be dry fired indefinitely with no concern of damage.

The concern of dry firing causing damage to .22 rimfires is badly overblown in general. I can think of perhaps 2 guns I have handled where damage from this was evident. Neither was a handgun.
 
Trying to find a snap cap or some other such device for a .22 rimfire is a fools errand. Get a gun that is designed to keep the firing pin from striking the rear barrel face, then forget about it. A Ruger Mark II can be dry fired indefinitely with no concern of damage.

The concern of dry firing causing damage to .22 rimfires is badly overblown in general. I can think of perhaps 2 guns I have handled where damage from this was evident. Neither was a handgun.

The slamming of the firing pin at the end of the travel can be stressful and has nothing to do with damaging the chamber rim area.
I've broken a firing pin dryfiring a centerfire rifle.
 
Along with the other great advice here, I found visualization helps as well. Picture yourself with a steady, controlled trigger pull as you are practicing and it will translate into improved muscle memory...
 
I recently got a SIRT pistol, and love it. in IPSC I shoot a glock 17, so after about 5 minutes of adjusting, the trigger on the SIRT matches my competition gun, I am getting better and more confident in my draw, a more consistent grip, a good trigger finger work out, and get to practice in a lot more places than before.
 
Thank you all for taking the time to give me feedback on dryfire pistol practice. I started using some of your suggestions this morning and now understand from your explanations why we do things in a particular way. Hopefully, I'll see improvement before long.... :)
 
YES. Snipers do it all the time. It's a great simple training exercise for your brain. It might not help everyone, but it helped me without a doubt, so again, yes it works !
 
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